Office Suite Selection Lottery and Assignment  ... 1 of 4 >
Nov. 30, 2018 - Members-elect without prior service in Congress and aides gathered in Rayburn 2237 for a lottery to determine priority for selection of office suites.  Rooms are allotted based on seniority—previous terms completed.  The room selection process started on Nov. 13-14 for Members with eight or more terms completed and continued to Nov. 28-29 for Members with one term completed, leading up to today when the 85 new Members with no previous service (or their representatives) draw to determine their position in the queue.
Members-elect wait for the lottery to start:
Rep.-elect Ron Wright (R) defeated Jana Lynne Sanchez (D) in the open TX-6 seat (NE Texas) held by retiring Rep. Joe Barton (R).
Rep.-elect TJ Cox (D) defeated Rep. Dave Valadao (R) in CA-21 (Central Valley) in an exceedingly close race.  He trailed Valadao by more than 5,000 votes in Election Night results but steadily gained as the votes were counted and only declared victory a couple of days ago on Nov. 28.  He thus was not able to participate in the lottery.
Rep.-elect Mark Green (R) was elected to fill the open TN-7 seat held by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R), who ran for U.S. Senate.   Just days ago, on Nov. 27, incoming Republican Members elected him president of the Republican freshman class.
Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw (R) was elected in TX-2 (Houston-area) to succeed retiring Rep. Ted Poe (R).
Rep.-elect Madeleine Dean (D) was elected in the new PA-4 (much of Montgomery Co.).
Rep.-elect Katie Porter (D), elected in CA-45, defeated Rep. Mimi Walters (R) in one of Democrats' Orange County pickups.
Rep.-elect Steve Watkins (R) won in KS-2, succeeding retiring Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R).
Rep.-elect Greg Pence (R), elected in IN-6, succeeds Rep. Luke Messer (R) who was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican U.S. Senate primary,.  Pence is the older brother of Vice President Mike Pence.  In the background is Rep.-elect Gil Cisneros (D) elected in CA-39.
Rep.-elect Xochitl Torres Small (D), elected in NM-2, succeeds Rep. Steve Pearce (R) who ran for governor.
Rep.-elect Mikie Sherrill (D), elected in the open NJ-11 to succeed retiring Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R), talks with Rep.-elect Elaine Luria (D), who defeated Rep. Scott Taylor in VA-2.  Both Sherrill and Luria served in the U.S. Navy.
Members-elect and their aides weigh a number of factors including square footage, layout of the suite, windows and light, and convenience to the Capitol.  Complicating matters this year, renovations in the Cannon House Office Building will require Members to move from those suites in the 2020 transition.  In the photo above, the Suite Selection Status Board shows the rooms available (42 in Cannon and 46 in Longworth).  According to the notes at the top: "Asterisks (*) indicate this is a split suite.  Underlined suites contain modular furniture.  Data in parentheses identifies the Congressional Transition year when the Cannon Renewal will require this suite to be vacated."
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